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Obamacare ... Employer Mandate Delayed

This is kind of an interesting development. They are delaying the employer mandate, but NOT the individual mandate. Won't that make a mess when the employer mandate is begun ... there will be people who will no longer need their individual insurance since they will be getting it from their employer. That should make it more likely that young, healthy people who are employed by a company with more than 50 employees will not sign up for the program in 2014. That should also screw up the actuarial basis for the cost of this law.

It just so happens that the 2014 mid-terms will now occur before this mandate kicks in. If this had not been delayed, the effects would be felt by the time the mid-terms were taking place. Nah. I'm sure that has nothing to do with it.

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is delaying a major provision in the health care overhaul, putting off until 2015 a requirement that many employers offer health insurance.

The announcement was made late Tuesday by the Treasury Department, at the beginning of the holiday week while Congress was on recess. It comes amid reports that the administration is running into roadblocks as it prepares to implement ObamaCare. The change in the employer mandate is arguably the most significant concession the administration has made to date.

The law requires companies that employ 50 or more workers to offer coverage or face fines. The Treasury Department and the White House said that, based on complaints by employers that the system for reporting the coverage was too onerous, they would simplify that system and give employers an additional year to comply.

The mandate was originally set to kick in for 2014, but will now start in 2015.

The decision effectively means that penalties that would have been assessed against non-compliant businesses will be delayed until 2015. The administration encouraged employers to provide insurance anyway.

While the employer mandate is being delayed, the so-called individual mandate -- the requirement that individuals obtain health insurance -- presumably remains on schedule for 2014.

The administration also still plans to open up a new marketplace for government-regulated insurance plans on Oct. 1, to take effect on Jan. 1. And a sprawling set of subsidies would also remain in place.

The delay of the employer mandate, though, raises questions about whether more elements of the law might be delayed in the coming months.

White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett explained that, on the employer mandate issue, the administration was making two changes.

"First, we are cutting red tape and simplifying the reporting process," she wrote on the White House blog. She cited concerns that the law would have required companies to set up new data collection systems on employee access to health care. She said: "Some of this detailed reporting may be unnecessary for businesses that more than meet the minimum standards in the law." So, she said, the administration plans to figure out a "smarter system."

Second, she said, the administration would delay the roll-out and penalties since they were overhauling the reporting system.
"This allows employers the time to test the new reporting systems and make any necessary adaptations to their health benefits while staying the course toward making health coverage more affordable and accessible for their workers," she said.

It is inconceivable how badly this is going to screw up health care. All I can say is eat right, get plenty of exercise, take your vitamins, don't engage in risky sex, drink responsibly... there are not going to be enough health care providers around to meet the needs, and the "free health care" you get will be worth every penny you pay for it.

It is inconceivable how badly this is going to screw up health care. All I can say is eat right, get plenty of exercise, take your vitamins, don't engage in risky sex, drink responsibly... there are not going to be enough health care providers around to meet the needs, and the "free health care" you get will be worth every penny you pay for it.

That's the problem... You are going to pay plenty. I heard that the average 25-30 year old will be paying an additional $5500 per year in premiums. And these are the healthiest folks on the planet. They spend about $500 a year in health care costs. Many 25 year olds barely make that in a year.

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​Over the past several months, the Administration has been engaging in a dialogue with businesses - many of which already provide health coverage for their workers - about the new employer and insurer reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively. We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so. We have listened to your feedback. And we are taking action. The Administration is announcing that it will provide an additional year before the ACA mandatory employer and insurer reporting requirements begin. This is designed to meet two goals. First, it will allow us to consider ways to simplify the new reporting requirements consistent with the law. Second, it will provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are moving toward making health coverage affordable and accessible for their employees. Within the next week, we will publish formal guidance describing this transition. Just like the Administration’s effort to turn the initial 21-page application for health insurance into a three-page application, we are working hard to adapt and to be flexible about reporting requirements as we implement the law.
Here is some additional detail. The ACA includes information reporting (under section 6055) by insurers, self-insuring employers, and other parties that provide health coverage. It also requires information reporting (under section 6056) by certain employers with respect to the health coverage offered to their full-time employees. We expect to publish proposed rules implementing these provisions this summer, after a dialogue with stakeholders - including those responsible employers that already provide their full-time work force with coverage far exceeding the minimum employer shared responsibility requirements - in an effort to minimize the reporting, consistent with effective implementation of the law.
Once these rules have been issued, the Administration will work with employers, insurers, and other reporting entities to strongly encourage them to voluntarily implement this information reporting in 2014, in preparation for the full application of the provisions in 2015. Real-world testing of reporting systems in 2014 will contribute to a smoother transition to full implementation in 2015.
We recognize that this transition relief will make it impractical to determine which employers owe shared responsibility payments (under section 4980H) for 2014. Accordingly, we are extending this transition relief to the employer shared responsibility payments. These payments will not apply for 2014. Any employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until 2015.
During this 2014 transition period, we strongly encourage employers to maintain or expand health coverage. Also, our actions today do not affect employees’ access to the premium tax credits available under the ACA (nor any other provision of the ACA).​Mark J. Mazur is the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

​​Posted in: Tax Policy

Ole and Sven are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing and drinking beer when suddenly Sven says, 'I think I'm gonna divorce my wife - she ain't spoke to me in over 2 months.' Ole sips his beer and says, 'Better think it over...women like that are hard to find.'

Am I reading this wrong, but isn't this an exemption for reporting that they are providing health care and not an exemption from actually providing health care?

Ole and Sven are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing and drinking beer when suddenly Sven says, 'I think I'm gonna divorce my wife - she ain't spoke to me in over 2 months.' Ole sips his beer and says, 'Better think it over...women like that are hard to find.'

The Democrats are still "finding out what is in the bill" As Nancy Pelosi told us....they did not read the bill! Same for the Senate immigration Bill the Senator's are just to busy to do their darn job

Am I reading this wrong, but isn't this an exemption for reporting that they are providing health care and not an exemption from actually providing health care?

Henlee, once you cut through the "government speak", you get to the key words:

extending this transition relief to the employer shared responsibility payments. These payments will not apply for 2014. Any employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until 2015.

It would appear that the law was written to give maximum flexibility to the Executive branch to do pretty much whatever they want with respect to the implementation of this law. HHS, which is writing all the rules, is part of the Executive branch as well. There appear to be no limitations on the Executive powers. The problem is that when the law was crafted, it is so far reaching, that each part of it requires a certain synergy with other parts ... or it begins to unravel; especially from a cost standpoint.

If this signature legislation for Obama turns out to be the train wreck that Baucus foresees, it will never be associated with Obama. It will end up being the mess inherited by the next POTUS. We'd better choose that person wisely, as that person will have even more of a mess to untangle than Obama was gifted with.

G.Clinchy@gmail.com"Know in your heart that all things are possible. We couldn't conceive of a miracle if none ever happened." -Libby Fudim

​I don't use the PM feature, so just email me direct at the address shown above.

But meanwhile, full steam ahead on the exchanges ... and it isn't even creating US jobs!

Infosys, a company headquartered in India, announced that the District of Columbia awarded a $49.5 million contract to Infosys Public Services, its U.S. subsidiary, to help develop D.C.’s exchange.

Infosys’s role is to be the prime systems integrator on the project. It will replace D.C.’s existing Medicaid and eligibility systems. Currently, Infosys is refusing to reveal whether the work will be done in the U.S. or will be outsourced to India. Computerworld Magazine has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see if it can learn whether the work will be outsourced or whether Infosys will bring cheap “green card” labor in from India to perform the work. All we know is that it’s going to be expensive and that it looks as if, once again, ObamaCare will not benefit American workers.

It's ironic that the private sector is pilloried for sending their jobs overseas ... but when our govt does the same thing, nobody says a word. You can't buy meds from Canada where they are cheaper, but the govt can outsource the medical plans for DC to India?

G.Clinchy@gmail.com"Know in your heart that all things are possible. We couldn't conceive of a miracle if none ever happened." -Libby Fudim

​I don't use the PM feature, so just email me direct at the address shown above.